by harness publicists from across North America

Wednesday’s (Sept. 23) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Harrington Raceway, Batavia Downs and Vernon Downs.

Powerful Charger wins for 11th time in 2015

Harrington, DE — Jim King Jr. and Tim Tetrick’s Powerful Charger ($5.80) notched his 11th win of the year Wednesday in the $16,000 Open Trot at Harrington Raceway in 1:56.4.

Trained by co-owner King Jr., the 7-year-old Powerful Emotion gelding charged home with urgency to reel in stretch leader Wingus late for the win. Spunky Jack was third. The win catapulted Powerful Charger closer to $500,000 in career earnings, as he has currently won more than $490,000.

A fundraiser was held throughout the night in support of the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition. Horse bracelets and other merchandise were sold during the evening with all proceeds going to benefit the DBCC. Local breast cancer survivors were on hand to participate in the winner’s circle photo of the seventh race.

Prior to the races a moment of silence was held to honor the memory of long-time Delaware horsemen J.D. Dennis who passed away on Monday September 21. Dennis was a former board member of Harrington Raceway and Delaware State Fair. He trained horses for more than 60 years and was survived by his wife Nellie and five children.

— Matt Sparacino

Batavia Downs
What does a mare that raced the likes of Anndrovette, Table Talk, Color’s A Virgin and Rocklamation just two months ago do when she comes to Batavia Downs? Win by four lengths in the $10,000 Open distaff pacing feature on Wednesday night (Sept. 23). The 4-year-old pacing mare Act Now, who just scorched the Open class ladies at Flamboro Downs in 1:53 flat last week, came south of the border on Wednesday to take on the best in Western New York. However the best weren’t good enough to even challenge the invader who toured the facility unencumbered this night. Act Now (Kevin Cummings) left the gate and shot right to the front, opening up a three-length advantage; a lead that was extended up to six-lengths during the race. Cummings had a stranglehold on the mare through fractions of :27.2, :55.1 and 1:23.4 when talk of another track record started swirling through the press box. With the plugs popped and Cummings clearly driving with the time in mind, Act Now flew home with no opposition nearby, to win by four lengths in 1:53.3. The finishing time was only three-fifths of a second off the track record of 1:53 for aged pacing mares set by Xenia Hanover in 2013. It was the second win in 10 starts this year (including two in a row) for Act Now ($4.10) and her share of the purse boosted her lifetime earnings to $521,717 for owners Joseph Davino and Patrick O’Brien. The Western Ideal mare is trained by Nikolas Drennan. The Downs leading driver, Kevin Cummings, had five winners on the card Wednesday night. He took a picture with Socialdelight ($4.10), Dedalos ($4.20), Most Happy Rider ($4.70), Act Now ($4.10) and Mystical Danica ($5.10). Sean McDonough and Dave McNeight III both scored driving doubles.

Vernon Downs
Despite mild traffic trouble on the far turn, Looney Dune ($9.50) demonstrated a powerful late kick en route to her 2-1/2 length win in Wednesday evening’s featured $7,000 top-level distaff pace at Vernon Downs. Ben McNeil settled the 7-year-old Bettor’s Delight mare just off pacesetters Express Jet (John MacDonald) and Table Games (Frank Davis) through a :26.4 initial quarter, tracking while in the clear through a softer :29.4 second quarter — but soon finding herself mired in traffic as the outer flow developed. After she was shuffled on the far turn, Looney Dune swung four-wide at the top of the stretch, working out around the second-over Asset Management (Dan Daley) before commencing her slingshot move to the lead in mid-stretch. Looney Dune drew off for a 1:53 score over Asset Management and Table Games, while longtime pacesetter Express Jet was worn down by the pressure of Aritzia Hanover (Chris Lems) through the far turn. John McNeil III trains Looney Dune for owner Ellen McNeil. Live racing returns to Vernon Downs on Friday (Sept. 25) evening, with the first of 11 races due off at 6:45 p.m. (EDT).